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Adam Oates may once again join Peter DeBoer's bench, this time in San Jose.

While all that's in stone is that "Adam Oates is not going back to the New Jersey Devils." Oates was one of DeBoer's assistants in 2011-12 with New Jersey when they lost the Stanley Cup to the LA Kings. Tue, Jun 9, 2015 09:43:00 PM

The Devils have not made any decisions as to whether Adam Oates or Scott Stevens could be the team’s head coach of the future.

General manager Lou Lamoriello would not tip his hand as to whether they are even candidates. "I'm not going to get into discussions about any of that," Lamoriello said. "Right now, all of us are just focused on what we're doing right now and how we can get going in the right direction. Everybody's thinking that way. Nobody's thinking any other way. If anybody is, I'm not aware of it and have seen no indications of it in the work ethic and the time that's being put into it – not that it wasn't the case before." Lamoriello, along with Stevens and Oates, have all been behind the bench after Peter DeBoer was fired. Sat, Jan 24, 2015 11:20:00 PM

The New Jersey Devils players conducted an informal practice on Dec. 26.

The coaching staff wasn't present for the Devils' skate, which is an important distinction because if they were, then the practice would have likely been found to be in violation of the CBA. As it is, the NHL might investigate the matter if it hasn't already. In this case though, Devils coach Pete DeBoer was fired early on Dec. 26, so he obviously wouldn't have been there under any circumstances. Wed, Dec 31, 2014 10:41:00 AM

The New Jersey Devils reportedly reached out to Adam Oates to join the team as a co-coach before getting permission from the Washington Capitals.

Oates is obviously not the head coach of the Capitals anymore, but they still control his rights as they relieved him of his duties when there was still time left on his contract. Regardless of what happened, Washington and the NHL consider the matter resolved. Mon, Dec 29, 2014 10:54:00 AM

Player News

The Devils have not made any decisions as to whether Adam Oates or Scott Stevens could be the team’s head coach of the future.

General manager Lou Lamoriello would not tip his hand as to whether they are even candidates. "I'm not going to get into discussions about any of that," Lamoriello said. "Right now, all of us are just focused on what we're doing right now and how we can get going in the right direction. Everybody's thinking that way. Nobody's thinking any other way. If anybody is, I'm not aware of it and have seen no indications of it in the work ethic and the time that's being put into it – not that it wasn't the case before." Lamoriello, along with Stevens and Oates, have all been behind the bench after Peter DeBoer was fired.

The New Jersey Devils players conducted an informal practice on Dec. 26.

The coaching staff wasn't present for the Devils' skate, which is an important distinction because if they were, then the practice would have likely been found to be in violation of the CBA. As it is, the NHL might investigate the matter if it hasn't already. In this case though, Devils coach Pete DeBoer was fired early on Dec. 26, so he obviously wouldn't have been there under any circumstances.

The New Jersey Devils reportedly reached out to Adam Oates to join the team as a co-coach before getting permission from the Washington Capitals.

Oates is obviously not the head coach of the Capitals anymore, but they still control his rights as they relieved him of his duties when there was still time left on his contract. Regardless of what happened, Washington and the NHL consider the matter resolved.

The New Jersey Devils have named Adam Oates and Scott Stevens as co-coaches.

We are not sure how this is going to work but both will be under GM Lou Lamoriello for the next few games as Lamoriello is expected lead the Devils in the short term. This should be interesting as perhaps Stevens will be in charge of the blueliners with Oates taking over the forwards.

A major reason for the firing of coach Adam Oates and the non-renewal of GM George McPhee was the players exit interviews.

All did not go well for Oates and McPhee as owner Ted Leonsis and team President Dick Patrick did not like what was said. "When we spoke to all of the individuals, we said, 'We know this is uncomfortable and you should be able to tell us whatever you want or tell us nothing, but whatever you tell us is just going to be between me and Dick because we're seeking out information,'" Leonsis said. The Capitals will now hire a new GM who will hire a new head coach.

The Washington Capitals have fired head coach Adam Oates and will not renew the contract of general manager George McPhee.

Despite Alexander Ovechkin leading the NHL in goals, the Caps did not make the playoffs. "George has been a terrific, longtime executive for our franchise, and I’m grateful for his commitment to the organization for the past 17 years," said Caps owner Ted Leonsis. "Under his leadership the Capitals won seven division titles. . . He was a highly effective manager who is extremely well regarded within our organization and around the NHL. We have the utmost respect for him and his family and wish them nothing but the very best. We are also appreciative of Adam’s efforts and thank him for his devotion, work ethic and contributions the past two seasons. He is a smart, tactical coach who improved the performance of several of our players. He is a Hall of Fame player who we believe will be a longtime coach in the NHL. We will help him in whatever way we are able and wish him well."

When the curtain closes on the Capitals’ 2013-14 season this may be the statistic that stands out the most:

When they have scored two or fewer goals this season the Caps are 0-25-6. Conversely, when they’ve scored three or more they are 24-4-7. "Two goals against on the road should be enough," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "We couldn’t score."Actually, the Capitals could score, but just once in Friday night’s 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. And now the Caps are in serious danger of missing the playoffs, despite having one of the best teams in the NHL on paper with the likes of Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.

That's despite the fact that the Capitals have an 8-3 record in shootouts this season. "I don't believe in them," he said. "I know the fans like it, but that's because it has kind of a carnival effect. I mean, I get it. It's in the rules, but maybe because I never played with it, I don't really like it very much." The NHL has shown signs that they want to see less shootouts. They excluded shootout wins when determining the number of victories each team has for the top playoff tiebreaker, which gives teams added incentive to finish tied contests in the overtime period. There's also been talk of extending overtime to reduce the likelihood of a shootout. At the same time, it doesn't look like the skills competition is going to go away entirely as it guarantees that no game will end in a tie without the risk of contests continuing indefinitely.

While he didn't name names, Washington coach Adam Oates blamed senior members of the Capitals for a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens Friday night.

"Tonight I’m a little more mad at the older guys for [not] helping the young kids out," Oates said, presumably referring to mistakes by Mikhael Grabovski, Nicklas Backstrom and Martin Erat, all of which led to Montreal goals. "We cant expect to win games going down 3-0," said Troy Brouwer, who tried to get things going with a first-period fight with P.K. Subban and a team-high six hits. "It’s been a big problem of ours all season long, getting down by goals. We have the ability in this room to come back, but you’re not going to be able to do it every night." Asked what could generate better starts, Brouwer quipped: "Maybe we need better music or something. We need to find a way to get better."

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby seems to be at odds with some of his teammates when it comes to how Washington is preparing for games.

"You see too much of guys joking around and listening to music and just looking really loose, like it's a practice," Holtby said. "We're paid to prepare, [not to] have a dance party before the game." On the other hand, Nicklas Backstrom feels that individual players can be trusted to get ready for games in their own way. Capitals coach Adam Oates, who referred to himself as a "jokester" in the leadup to games during his playing days, agreed with Backstrom. Meanwhile Washington is 5-7-0 this season.

The Washington Capitals have been outscored 9-4 in first periods this season.

Those slow starts have led to Washington's 2-4-0 record. "We've got to figure out a way to just be focused earlier," Coach Adam Oates said. "The biggest thing that's frustrating is the passing for me. You're passing it to your buddy, you put it in his feet and you put him in a difficult situation. We've got to conquer that, and we will." Even on Monday when they beat Edmonton 4-2 and were tied through 20 minutes, the Capitals were only able to get three shots on goal in the first period. They'll play another struggling team on Wednesday in the New York Rangers.

Capitals coach Adam Oates wants his team to stay the course despite the slow start.

The Capitals are 1-3 at the start of the season and their second line has no points at even strength. "Obviously we want wins, but I told the boys (Friday), we did a lot of good things," Oates said. "Our team is not a team that I think has problems scoring goals. We are right now, but that’s not going to be our forte. Keep playing the way we’re playing. ... That’s the message, and if it means at some point we’ve got to shake it up, I’ll shake it up. But I don’t think it’s a chemistry thing right now."

Depth Charts

Travis Zajac scored a goal in the Devils' 5-1 win over Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Zajac has two goals and no assists in 13 games this season. It hasn't helped that he's seen his role reduced in 2017-18 in general and especially in recent games as he logged 13:06 minutes on Saturday and 14:41 minutes Tuesday night. Even still, perhaps his goal on Tuesday will help turn things around.

Brian Boyle couldn't help but cry after scoring his first goal on Thursday since being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.

"I can usually separate it," Boyle said. "It was a wave of a number of different things. My family, my wife [Lauren] has been through the ringer. I’m not playing tonight, I’m not here, if it’s not for her and my family and these guys in here. I guess it’s a little bit bigger tonight than it has been ever." Boyle missed the start of the season after the diagnosis, but was able to resume his NHL career on Nov. 1. Thursday's contest was his fifth game since returning.

Blake Coleman found the back of the net in New Jersey's 5-3 loss to Columbus on Friday.

It was Coleman's third goal and fifth point in 28 games this season. The 26-year-old can continue to provide you with around a penalty minute per game (he currently has 28 PIM), but you shouldn't expect him to pick up the pace offensively.

Miles Wood scored a third-period goal but it wasn't enough as the New Jersey Devils fell to the rival New York Rangers 5-2 on Saturday night.

Wood's goal was his seventh of the season, giving him 13 points in 28 games so far. He has notched a point in each of his last three games. He is one goal away from his career-high of eight. Wood also had 3 shots and six penalty minutes in just over 15 minutes of ice-time against the Rangers.

Jesper Bratt picked up a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov made a terrible blind pass right to Bratt who buried his eighth of the year into the empty net. Bratt, a 19-year-old rookie forward is now up to 17 points in 25 games this season. The Swede is arguably the surprise of the season and should be owned in most formats (available in 80% of Yahoo leagues) considering he is playing alongside Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier.

Drew Stafford will be a healthy scratch in Saturday's game against the New York Rangers.

He'll be coming out of the lineup for teammate Pavel Zacha. Stafford has five goals and three assists in 25 games this season. Look for Dalton Prout and Steve Santini to also watch the game from the press box.

Hayes will be scratched for the third game in a row and the seventh time in eight contests. He has three goals and three assists in 16 games this season. Dalton Prout will also watch from the press box. Neither player has fantasy value.

Andy Greene recorded his 200th career point during the Devils' high scoring affair with Chicago on Sunday.

That's 33 more career points than Connor McDavid for the Devils' captain . Albeit, McDavid entered the league in Greene's ninth season. Greene (41 goals, 159 assists) reached the milestone in career game No. 723.

John Moore has surprisingly excelled in three-on-three overtime hockey.

Moore isn't seen as an offensive defenseman, but he's managed to score six overtime goals since the NHL adopted the three-on-three overtime structure in 2015-16. That's the most overtime goals of any defenseman over that span, topping Brent Burns and Shayne Gostisbehere, who have recorded four each. Keep in mind that Moore has 30 total goals since the start of 2015-16 while Gostisbehere has 76 and Burns has 102, so that highlights how surprising it is that Moore would top that list. For Moore's part though, he's downplayed his accomplishment. "I’m really fortunate to get the opportunity to get out there and play with some great players," Moore said. "I’m the recipient of some selfless hockey by a lot of guys."

Mirco Mueller will miss 10-12 weeks of action undergoing surgery on his broken left clavicle.

Mueller suffered the injury in Sunday's game against the Blackhawks. He should return to the lineup sometime between late-January and early-February. Mueller had two assists in 13 games this season. He averages just over 17 minutes of ice time per game.

Vatanen led all Devils' players in ice time (23:13) and was a fixture on the team's second powerplay alongside Damon Severson at the point. We wouldn't be surprised if he joined Will Butcher on the squad's first unit Saturday night against the Coyotes. If Vatanan is available in your pool, grab him immediately.

Steve Santini will be a healthy scratch in Friday's game against Colorado.

Santini has one goal and five assists in 22 games this season. Dalton Prout and Jimmy Hayes will also watch the game from the press box. None of these three players will have any fantasy value going forward.

Keith Kinkaid stopped 34 shots but allowed five goals as the New Jersey Devils fell to the New York Rangers 5-2 on Saturday night.

Kinkaid falls to 5-3-1 in eight starts so far this season, with a 3.48 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. He has now lost two in a row. While the Devils remain in a playoff position, don't expect Kinkaid to get too many starts with Cory Schneider healthy.